The only island that humans can visit in the Mokohinau Island chain is Burgess Island. It is the northernmost island of the group and is known for its lighthouse.
The Department of Conservation owns and runs most of the island as a nature preserve and wildlife sanctuary.
Unique species
Because of their isolated location at the edge of the continental shelf, the Mokohinau Islands are home for unique wildlife species found nowhere else in New Zealand, or the world.
The Mokohīnau Islands Nature Reserves provide a safe refuge for some of New Zealand’s smallest endangered species including:
- Mokohīnau skink
- Robust skink,
- Mokohīnau stag beetle,
- Several threatened plants.
- Several species of burrowing and ground-nesting seabirds find refuge on the islands, as do a range of forest birds.
To be honest, none of these critters are particularly beautiful, but they are rare and endemic to these islands.
All exotic animal pests have been removed from the island group and the habitats are regenerating naturally.
The Burgess Lighthouse
The 14 meter lighthouse on Burgess stands at 53 meters above sea level and was first lit in 1883! The lighthouse, and three keepers cottages were built in 1882.
The keepers originally used oil to power the lighthouse.
But later the Kiwis converted it to a diesel-generated electricity lighthouse in 1939.
During WWII the navy constructed an early warning radar station near the lighthouse.
The Maritime department automated and “de-manned” the lighthouse in 1980. Vessels can see it 19nm (35 kilometers) out at sea where the light flashes every 10 seconds.
View from sea as we approach the islands.
View of the lighthouse from the dinghy
In 1996, New Zealand removed the original light and associated equipment and replaced it with a rotating beacon fitted with a 35-watt tungsten halogen bulb. Solar panels now power the light at the lighthouse.
Today, you can see the lighthouse, the keepers cottages, the radar warning system, an oil store, and the remains of the landing jetty.
I found this interesting post on Burgess Island – check it out.
Unfortunately for us the swell was coming in pretty strong so we could not land the dinghy on Burgess Island.
I was so disappointed but the “dinghy landing” looked sketchy and had a “danger” sign and the beach was all rocks.
Kiwi Ingenuity
This is a great story of Kiwi ingenuity.
The keepers had problems getting stores (provisions) in the early years. The ships only came out 3 times a year and were often very late.
In 1908, one of the keepers built a tin boat with tin sails and dropped 3 letters inside it. On the outside of the boat were instructions to whoever found the boat.
The Maritime sent the stores ship out within 9 days of the tin boat leaving the Mokohinau Islands!
The original tin boat is on display as the “smallest mail boat in the world” at the Auckland Museum.
Astounding Beauty
We were not able to walk to the lighthouse but we did dinghy all around the Mokohinau Islands. There are loads of caves and tunnels.
Just check out the many vibrant colors in the water and on the rocks!
Towering cliffsides and mountains jet up from the sea so powerfully.
Every turn showed us something more beautiful.
We were tucked away in a little bay near Hokoromea Island.
This is by far the best anchor spot in all of the Mokohinau Islands.
But as you can see you have to search for a little sandy spot to drop the hook.
The Mokohinau islands are stunning. However, you do have to have ideal weather conditions in order to anchor here.
We were probably on the verge of not good conditions which is why we could not go to shore. However, it was worth it just to be in the midst’s of so much beauty.
Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.
We were in the Mokohinau’s in early April 2026.
Find Burgess Island on No Foreign Land.
Be sure to check out our blog post on the Mokohinau Islands.
